A 37-year-old woman has died and another remains in a critical condition in hospital after a collision in Ballymena over the weekend.

The PSNI said that the tragedy took place on the Crankill Road in Ballymena on Friday.

It is understood the woman who died was the front-seat passenger in a red Toyota Yaris which collided with black Volkswagen Passat at around 6.40pm.

The driver of the Yaris remains in a critical condition. Two rear passengers suffered non-life-threatening injuries but also remained in hospital for treatment on Sunday night.

The two male occupants of the Passat were taken to hospital but have since been treated and released.

Inspector Marc Riddell is appealing for witnesses to the collision to get in touch: “I would like to hear from anyone who saw either vehicle on the Crankill Road prior to the time of the crash, or anyone who may have witnessed the collision or captured dashcam footage of it,” he said. “Officers can be contacted by calling 101, quoting reference 1558 21/06/19.”

North Antrim MP Ian Paisley said police have not been able to give him any further details about the accident.

“Obviously this is an utter tragedy for all the families affected and our hearts and prayers are with them and those still in hospital as a result of this collision.

“Hopefully in a few days we will find out more information about what happened that will help us avoid future fatalities on this road.”

The News Letter asked the PSNI if there were any plans to release the name of the deceased woman. However, a PSNI spokesman said that her family had asked that her details should not be released.

Police could not even say if the woman who died was actually from the Ballymena area.

On Sunday night, two days after the tragedy, no local politicians had yet released any statements about it.

The News Letter attempted to contact Ballymena councillors, and the mayor. However, they were either not contactable or else knew nothing about the tragedy.